Oops
by Jayniebear321
Summary: College AU: Everyone knows that when you attend college, you can make friends in the weirdest ways. Lucy Heartfilia learns this lesson personally when she runs into a spider while getting into the shower and a certain pinkette runs in to save her from a "killer". One-shot fluffy, Nalu hinted. Rated M for slight swearing.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I found college AU's….not good….not good at all. Well, maybe good for you guys, for me, not so much. Anyway, as always I own nothing and Hiro Mashima gets all the credit for Fairy Tail. This is just a bonus chapter for funsies and has nothing to do with "Chasing Dragons". Enjoy and feel free to review**

Lucy Heartfilia could not believe her luck. She somehow managed to get into the Fairy Tail fraternity while attending Magnolia University and even better yet she was invited to live in the Fairy Tail house. As a freshmen, this was a great honor and privilege. Just to add to her luck, her roommate and best friend, Levy McGarden, made it into the fraternity too, so they were still able to room together in the house. Lucy was as happier than she ever imagined possible.

Lucy's life, previous to college was a mix of emotions. She had grown up in a sheltered home and wanted for nothing, at least in the material aspect. As a child, her family was a close and happy one, full of love and happiness, but after Lucy's mother died from a sudden illness, Jude Heartfilia grew distant and did not interact with Lucy, unless it was necessary. During Lucy's senior year of high school, Jude began pushing for Lucy to go into business and attend a business school, but Lucy refused. She wanted to become a writer. This difference eventually led to an ultimatum from Jude, either Lucy would attend business school and take over the family's company or she would be cut off from the family and have to get through college by herself. Lucy, not being one to give up on her dreams, refused his offer. She didn't care about money, gifts, or fancy things. She had already accepted that since the loss of his wife, her mother, had destroyed his capacity to love. After her refusal, Jude kicked her out of the house. With nowhere to go and nothing holding her back, Lucy left. She ended up at her best friend's apartment and Levy welcomed her with open arms.

Lucy and Levy both applied to Magnolia University, Lucy was going for Creative Writing and Levy was going for Anthropology. When their acceptance letter came in, it was one of the happiest moments of their senior year. They made it into their first choice school and were going to achieve their dreams. Lucy hoped that by hearing about her acceptance into Magnolia University, Jude would accept Lucy's choice and start speaking to her, but the silence only continued. She knew it was a false hope and it stung when he continued to ignore her existence, but Lucy moved on and began dreaming of college. Graduation came quickly, as it always does for seniors and their last summer before college began. While most other students spent the summer partying and drinking, Lucy and Levy worked so they could afford their books and supplies at school. Levy at the library and Lucy at a crappy convenience store. For Lucy, it was one of the longest summers of her life, but summer finally ended and at the end of August, the two friends moved into college.

The first semester went by in a whirl. Levy joined several book clubs and human rights groups. Lucy joined in some writing groups. Even with their busy schedules, they managed to make many friends. One of their most notable friends was Erza Scarlet, a Junior and member of the Fairy Tail fraternity, the most popular and most rowdy fraternity on campus. Everyone rushed for Fairy Tail, but only those with a drive to help others and have great adventures were able to get in. Naturally Levy and Lucy were drawn into Fairy Tail and with some pushing by Erza Scarlet, the girls rushed and made it in. Not only did they make it in, they were able to get a double room inside the main house itself.

The first night the girls lived in the Fairy Tail house was an adventure in itself. The house threw a massive party in celebration of all the new members, Lucy, Levy, a quiet girl named Juvia Lockster, an edgy boy who went by Gray Fullbuster, and a kid with bright salmon hair named Natsu Dragneel. Within the first hour of the party, Lucy could see that the fraternity's reputation was well earned and why Natsu and Gray were added. According to Juvia the two boys were roommates, but fought like cats and dogs. And fight they did. They were constantly challenging each other to drinking games like beer pong and quarters. They played bloody knuckles and were always trying to one-up each other. Lucy couldn't help but laugh at their antics. Eventually the party was put to an end when one of the neighboring fraternities called campus security for the noise. Those sober enough went back to their respective rooms and those who were not crashed wherever was comfortable enough to sleep.

When Lucy woke up bright sunlight was streaming in through the window. The clock read noon and she was in her room alone. Levy was gone, but before Lucy could panic, she found a note on her nightstand from Levy. It read:

Hey Lu-chan,

Good morning! Just wanted to let you know that I am going out for coffee with a friend. You seemed pretty out when I left, so I just let you sleep. I'll talk to you when I get back.

Levy

Lucy smiled at the letter. Even though she was drinking and spent most of the night dancing, Lucy did notice Levy talking to dark haired guy at the party the night before. _Looks like Levy made a 'friend' last night, _she thought. _Who knew Levy was into tough guys?_ Lucy giggled at the thought and began imagining ways that she could tease her best friend.

Checking a clock again, Lucy figured it was an appropriate time to take a shower, even with hung-over people in the house. She quickly changed out of her clothes, wrapped up in a towel, grabber her shower gear, and left for the nearest bathroom. As she walked, Lucy could hear snores coming out of the room across the hall from her. The door read: **Natsu Dragneel &amp; Gray Fullbuster**. _So that's where those two are living._ _Man, they must have drank a lot to still be sleeping._

When Lucy made it to the bathroom she shut and locked the door. She set her shower basket on the floor next to the tub and was about to drop her towel to step into the shower when she saw a massive black spider. The type of spider that makes a horrifying crunching sound when you kill it. It was awful.

Lucy screamed! She screamed at the top of her lungs. Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the bathroom door.

"Is everything ok in there?" a muffled voice yelled and when Lucy didn't respond with words, the voice continued. "I'm coming in."

After two good hits, the lock on the door gave and in walked a pink-haired kid.

"What's the problem, who's dead?" he yelled looking around the bathroom in a panic.

"SPIDER! MASSIVE SPIDER IN THE TUB!" Lucy was against the wall trying to get as far away from the tub as possible.

"Got it." The kid took off his flip-flop and before the spider knew what was happening, he killed it with one swift strike.

Lucy took a deep breath and peeled herself off of the wall.

"Sorry for scaring you," Lucy looked at the ground and blushed. "I'm just not good with massive spiders, especially ones like that." She held out her hand to him. _He looks oddly familiar._ "I'm Lucy Heartfilia, by the way."

The kid looked up at her and then quickly looked back to the ground. He was blushing fire-engine red.

"And you're naked." He bent down to grab her towel and hand it to her, still looking away.

Lucy looked down and blushed even redder than he was. Apparently in her panic to get away, she dropped her towel. Lucy quickly grabbed the towel and covered herself the best she could.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry. I…" Lucy began talking very quickly in her embarrassment. The kid just started laughing.

"Well, that's one way to get acquainted!" He laughed and stuck out his hand. "I'm Natsu Dragneel. I live across the hall."

Lucy readjusted her towel and shook his hand.

"That's right, I thought I recognized you from last night. You're one of the new members of Fairy Tail. I saw you goofing off at the party last night with that Gray kid."

"Yeah, we get a little competitive, but it's a lot of fun." Natsu rubbed the back of his hand and grinned. _He's cute,_ she thought. "Well I better go so you can, uh, shower and stuff. Like I said, I live across the hall if you want to hang out…or if you find anymore spiders."

"Shut it!" Lucy growled turning red again.

"That's no way to treat your savior." He teased.

Lucy just growled again, causing Natsu to laugh again.

"Fine. I'm going. Talk to ya later Luce!"

"Luce?" she asked confused.

"Yeah, we're friends now, and that's your new nickname." Natsu grinned. As hard as she tried, his smile was contagious and she ended up grinning back. "Later Luce." And with that, he left the room.

Lucy stepped in the shower. _Fairy Tail is an interesting fraternity, and Magnolia is a great school. A friendship with Natsu wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen. I think I can find a home here. Either way, college is one hell of an adventure._

**Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this. I had a lot of fun writing it. This will possibly be a two shot, with the next chapter being a Gajevy fic. **

**Anyway, funny story for you guys. I'm a college student and am living in a double with my best friend. While I was writing this, she was reading a book for a class. I was just at the part where I was describing the spider and how big it was when she slammed her book shut. Now understand I had headphones in at the time and I HEARD her slam the book shut. It scared the hell out of me to say the least. I yelled, jumped up from my seat, and ripped my headphones out. Apparantly my reaction was hysterical because my roommate laughed at me for ten minutes straight. The worst part was that her laugh is contagious so I couldn't stay mad for long. Needless to say I'm currently looking for a new roommate….just kidding, I love the chick.**

**Like I said, I hope you enjoyed the story. It was a blast to write. Thanks for the read, if you have any requests or suggestions, feel free to send them in. I like hearing from you guys. Until next time.**

**Jayniebear**


	2. A Cat's Tale

A Cat's Tale

**Hi guys! This is a continuation of the college AU I wrote a while ago. I still want to do a Gajevy college story, but I haven't gotten around to it. This story is dedicated to my roommate, who helped me come up with the general idea of the plot. It was a great conversation!**

**All credit goes to Hiro Mashima. As always feel free to review and comment with any suggestions. I love hearing from you guys, your reviews always make my day! Enjoy the story!**

It has been a month since Lucy had moved into the Fairy Tail frat house and each day had proved to be a new adventure. Natsu quickly become one of her closest friends after the spider incident and they were always going on adventures together or getting into trouble. His newest master plan had been bringing a kitten into the house and hiding it in his room.

Now, the Fairy Tail house was pretty lax about enforcing campus rules, but one rule that they followed closely was the school's policy on pets. Absolutely no pets were allowed in the dorms or in the greek houses on campus. If you wanted a pet at school you had to move off campus.

At first when Natsu showed up at Lucy's room with is kitten, she adamantly refused to become a conspirator in his plan. She wasn't going to lose her spot in the house over a cat.

"But Lucy! I found him abandoned, hiding in the bushes outside of the house. If the school's security finds him they'll take him to a shelter!" He pleaded, his lower lip trembling. "The shelters around here have a high kill rate. I don't want this poor little guy to be hurt. Look at that face! You can't honestly tell me that you don't want to help him?" He held the cat up so it was face to face with her, pleading with his eyes.

Lucy glared at the cat and Natsu. She had to admit that it was a cute kitten and it couldn't have been older than six months. It's fur shone a peculiar gray-blue in the sun and it seemed really comfortable in Natsu's arms. She sighed. Natsu won the argument again and by the growing smile he was giving her, he could already tell that he had won. What irritated her the most was his arguments weren't even that good!

"Fine, I'll help you hide the cat, but only until we find it a better home or you take it with you when the semester ends in a few weeks, whichever comes first."

Immediately he lowered the cat from her face and pulled it closer to his chest. He shot her his signature grin. _So much for being broken hearted over this cat,_ she thought with annoyance, _that jerk played me_.

"I knew I could count on you Luce? Do you wanna hold him?" He grinned holding the kitten out to her.

"Sure. So where are you keeping the Furball?" Lucy took the cat from him and held it close to her. The cat was like a constant motor boat and hadn't stopped purring since Natsu showed up at her door. "You're keeping it in your room right? How's Gray about it?"

"First of all his name is Happy! And second…."He faltered and looked at the ground. "I haven't talked to Gray about it yet. It all happened so quickly that I didn't get to tell Gray about it and I still have to get food and stuff." He looked up at Lucy and smiled shyly. "I was hoping that you could hold it until after I talked to Gray and bought its food."

"Natsu Dragneel! I don't have cat food either and what about Levy? I doubt she's going to be happy to walk into the room and find your cat hanging out here."

"Really, cause Levy definitely hates cats." Natsu replied sarcastically. "God knows her current boyfriend is practically in love with cats, in fact it's kinda creepy. Tell her to look at it like training for when Gajeel gets his cat."

Lucy giggled. It was true, Levy did like animals and Gajeel did have a weird obsession about cats. He already had a name picked out for the cat he planned on getting as soon as he lived in an apartment that allowed pets. Pantherlily, or Lily, for short.

"Also, I was going to go and get the supplies right now, but I can't exactly hold a cat and walk around the store. I just need you to watch the cat for an hour or two until I get the food and stuff." Natsu put his pleading face back on. "Please Luce, look Happy likes you already! He hasn't stopped purring since you've been holding him."

"Fine, I'll watch the cat, but you owe me Dragneel!" She conceded.

"No problem! In fact, why don't you come to the store with me and I'll pick up some dinner for us as payback. I just need someone to hold the cat while I drive."

"Deal, I choose where we pick up dinner from."

A few hours later, Lucy and Natsu were unloading the cat supplies into Natsu's room. They left the cat outside near the car in the carrier they just bought, so that they could get the room set up. Finally, they were ready to bring the cat in. Natsu went to grab the carrier while Lucy kept an eye out for Erza or Makarov. If they knew what Natsu and Lucy were doing, they'd be skinned alive.

Just as Natsu reached for the case a voice popped up from behind.

"Hey Dragneel! What do ya got there?" It was Gajeel, with Levy in tow behind him. They were busted.

"Uh, nothing Gajeel. It looks like someone trapped a cat and we were just about the release it."

"Let me see, maybe it has a collar and is someone's pet."

"Nah, it's ok. We got it." Natsu smiled weakly.

"Come on Dragneel! Let me see the kitty!"

"Dude, you have the weirdest obsessions with cats!"

"Wanna say that to my face, hot-head?"

"I just did."

Natsu accidentally dropped the carrier as he went to faceoff with Gajeel. Luckily, Happy wasn't hurt, but the cage's door popped open and the cat took off.

"Shit! Happy get back here! Damn it metal-face, look what you made me do!" Natsu yelled and ran after the cat with Lucy close behind.

"Happy? Do you have something to tell us Natsu? That's not your cat is it?" Levy asked, following after Lucy and Natsu.

"No, it's not mine, I'm just trying to get it somewhere safe." Natsu replied, climbing down to look under the bush Happy ran under. "Where are you, ya damn cat?" He half mumbled, scanning the shrubs. Finally, he spotted the kitten.

"Gotcha!" Natsu yelled triumphantly, scaring the cat.

Happy took off past Natsu and up the nearest tree.

"Crap!" Natsu groaned.

"I got him!" Lucy called back, starting to climb up the trunk. Natsu climbed to his feet and watched Lucy climb after the cat. "Here Happy! You're ok, there's no reason to be scared." She called softly, reaching out. He was only a branch away and then this whole mess would be over.

Happy turned to look at her and then jumped to a higher branch. Lucy could've sworn that she saw a mischievous look in his eye when he looked at her.

"Ha ha, very funny cat, but you're coming with me." She grumbled as she pulled herself higher. "Come on, I don't like heights, come here you little furball!"

Happy seemed to be making a game out of the situation. Lucy would just get close enough to reach him, when the kitten would jump away. This game of cat and human continued until they were both at the top of the tree.

"I got you now cat!" Lucy grinned. "You have nowhere to go now."

Wouldn't you know it, but that cat shot her a look and jumped over to the roof of the house.

"Are you serious cat?! I swear I'm going to flay you." Lucy leaned over to reach the roof, but as she leaned, the tree swayed with her weight. "Oh crap!" She wrapped her arms around the tree and closed her eyes. She was higher than she though and the house was too far away.

"Hey Luce, are ya ok?" Natsu yelled from below.

"No! I think I'm stuck. The tree is too thin up here and it moves when I move. I'm too scared to climb down." Lucy wimpered. "You're going to have to call for help."

"Don't worry Luce! I'm on my way up. I'll help you down." Natsu called, grabbing a branch to pull himself up.

"Don't you'll get stuck too and then we'll both be in trouble!"

"Nonsense! Look I'm almost there!"

Lucy refused to look down, but she did notice that his voice did sound closer. After a few minutes Lucy felt a hand on her arm and looked up to see Natsu grinning next to her.

"Come on, I'll show you the way dow….uh" Natsu put a hand over his mouth.

"What's wrong? Natsu are you ok?"

"No," he mumbled, "the tree's swaying is giving me motion sickness."

"But you just drove an hour ago and were fine."

"That's cause I consider the car a friend not transporation…ugh" he heaved, "Why do you think I'm so insistant that you call the car by its name?"

"Natsu you're a moron!" Lucy shook her head, causing the tree to sway again and Natsu to heave in turn. "Levy I need you to call the fire department. We aren't going to get down on our own."

"No prob Lucy, I already did. On a side note, I have your cat. He's really sweet." Levy yelled back.

Lucy could only growl in response.

"That was one of the most embarrassing things I've ever done?" Lucy whined to Levy later that night as they hung out in Natsu and Gray's room.

"Worse than when you flashed Natsu on the first day you met?" Levy grinned mischievously at her best friend.

"Ok, not as bad, but close!" Lucy conceded, laughing.

"I can't believe Erza is allowing you two to keep the cat after that incident today." Levy stretched out to pick up the kitten who was currently rummaging through the bags they brought in earlier.

"Neither can I! I think it's because Natsu promised to take it home this weekend."

"It's a cute cat. Erza probably couldn't say no to it. Hey what do you got there?" Levy asked grabbing a piece of paper out of the cat's mouth. "It's a receipt." She held it up the read.

"Oh no! Lucy you might want to see this." She passed the paper over to Lucy to read. It was a receipt from the shelter.

It read:

Kitten adoption Charge: Free

Check-up Charge: $25

Shots Charge: $25

Total $50

Lucy paled. He really did play her.

"Natsu Dragneel, get your ass in here right now! We need to talk!"

**I hope you enjoyed the story! Feel free to review or comment on what you thought! This was a lot of fun to plan out and write. Have a great weekend! Until next time ~ **


	3. All of Me

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Long time no see! Here is the Gajevy College AU fic I've been promising. My next one will be mostly Nalu, but I'm not quite sure when I'm going to have time to write it. It will appear eventually.**

**Anyway, Fairy Tail and all of its wonderful/odd characters belong to Hiro Mashima. Thank you guys for all your support and reviews. It means a lot to me. As always, feel free to review and comment, send ideas, etc. Your comments make my day! Enjoy the story.**

As Levy and Lucy's first year of college came to a close, the weather began to warm and spring appeared in the form of blooming magnolias and cherry blossoms.

"I can't believe it's almost over." Levy said with a sigh as she laid out a blanket for herself and Gajeel to lay on.

With finals approaching, Levy had been spending most of her time in the library, but even as bookish as she was Levy couldn't completely deny the call of the warm weather. Everyone was outside enjoying the slightly breezy air of spring. Natsu had dragged Lucy into a game of Frisbee with Erza, Jellal, Gray, and Elfman on the campus courtyard, while Juvia stood to the side cheering for Gray and glaring at Lucy. The game was quickly turning from Frisbee to full contact football as Gray, Elfman, and Natsu kicked up the competitiveness. Levy winced as Lucy was nearly taken out by Gray who was intercepting Natsu's pass.

"What's almost over?" Gajeel asked with a grunt, pulling Levy back to from her distraction.

"The school year. So much has happened in this one year that it's hard to believe that its almost over."

"Thank God!" Gajeel huffed as he flopped on his back onto the blanket. "I don't think I can survive classes much longer, Shrimp."

"That's what you say." Levy replied. "I don't want this year to end."

"'Course you don't, nerd. You practically live for your classes and books." Gajeel chuckled.

"That's not what I mean Gajeel." Levy elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to laugh harder. "Think about what all took place since we came to here in the fall. I've made a lot of friends. I've taken some amazing classes. I joined the Fairy Tail fraternity and since then the adventures haven't ended." Levy stuck her lower lip out a bit in a pout. "Now that the school year's ending, the adventures have to be put on hold."

Unfortunately, since college doesn't come cheap, Levy had get a job so that she could buy her books for the next year. Luckily, she and Lucy were going to be waitressing at the same restaurant so things shouldn't be too boring. _At least the money would be better than working at the library like last summer,_ Levy thought.

"So I don't make the list of good things that have happened during your freshmen year?" Gajeel raised a studded eyebrow, teasing her again.

Levy laughed and laid back on the blanket next to him.

"You almost didn't happen, remember?"

"How could I forget, you broke up with me over some mushy song that you liked!"

"I didn't break up with you over a song and you know it! I broke up with you because you were being an ass and I wanted absolutely nothing to do with you." Levy shot back hotly.

"Yeah, yeah. I made up for it didn't I? And thing are fine now, right?" Gajeel grumbled.

"Yeah." Levy squeezed his hand. "They're more than fine."

"Well since everything's right in the world now, I'm going to take a nap while you study." Gajeel yawned, rolling onto his side. "Feel free to join me."

"Gajeel, we need to study for finals." Levy complained while shaking his arm.

"Eventually, but right now I'm napping." Gajeel replied without opening his eyes.

"Fine! Enjoy your nap, but don't bug me later when you're cramming and need a tutor." Levy lectured him, knowing that it was a lie.

"Whatever – night, Shrimp!

"Night….idiot." Levy mumbled back.

"Heard that." Gajeel said, but within minutes he was snoring.

"What a moron." Levy smiled, while laying down on her stomach next to him.

She opened her note books to study, while listening to a combination of Gajeel snoring and the Frisbee game that had gone from Ultimate Frisbee to a massive football game involving nearly half the fraternity.

As hard as she tried to concentrate on her studies, Levy's mind had started to wander back to when she first started going out with Gajeel. As much as their first fight had broken her heart at the time, she couldn't help but smile at the memory.

Everything began the day after Fairy Tail's welcoming party that was thrown for the fraternity's newest members. During the party, Levy bumped into Gajeel while looking for Lucy. They hit it off quickly and ended up spending the night dancing and drinking together. Once they sobered up the next day, the two went out for breakfast and from there, their friendship quickly developed into something deeper. After about a week of hanging out and talking Gajeel asked Levy out to dinner.

The original plan was for Lucy to help her shop for a dress and get her ready for the date, but once Juvia and Erza knew about the situation, they wanted in too. Lucy did Levy's nails, while Erza worked on her make-up and Juvia braided her hair. After about an hour and a half of tugging, pulling, and touch-ups, Levy was ready for her first date.

Levy stood on the porch of the Fairy Tail house in a simple, but elegant soft pink dress, that came up over her left shoulder. Her make-up was light, but was enough to bring out her hazel eyes. She wore an elegant silver necklace with the Fairy Tail's letter and a silver watch with a dangling pennant from her wrist. Levy checked the time to make sure she wasn't late to meet him and looked back at the window where she knew her friends were watching her from. She couldn't help but laugh at the thumbs up that Lucy sent through the slightly cracked curtains.

Just when she was getting antsy, Gajeel rumbled up in his beat-up truck. Gajeel parked his car and stepped out to meet Levy on the porch. He was dressed in black dress pants and a blue dress shirt with his suit coat over his shoulder. Just looking at him made Levy catch her breath.

"Hey Shrimp," Gajeel grinned. "You look cute, want to go get dinner?"

Levy flinched internally. _I was going for pretty, not cute, but I guess it's ok since he still looks interested._

"Sure." Levy followed him down the steps and towards his truck. She snuck a quick look back towards the house and smiled at her friends who were no longer hiding but practically sticking their heads through the curtain to watch. _So much for stealth._ Levy thought with a smile.

Gajeel lead her around the car and opened the door for her so she could climb in. Luckily, Levy was able to climb in herself without embarrassment or Gajeel's help. Once she was in the truck Gajeel went to his side, got in and began driving them to the restaurant.

"So, you have a nice truck Gajeel." Levy started awkwardly, trying to break the silence.

"Thanks, my dad's a mechanic." Gajeel grinned. "I helped him fix it in the garage when I was in high school. Never knew that it was meant for me until it was finished around by 16th birthday. The old man gave me the keys as soon as it was done." He gently touched the dashboard as if it were a small child. "I'm very proud of it, one of the best presents he gave me, the bastard."

"You've never mentioned much about your family before." Levy commented, her eyes alight.

"That's cause they are mostly all gone. Only my dad's around, and even then. He disappears for work sometimes and I go a while without seeing him." Gajeel trailed off, his eyes focused on the road.

"I thought you said he was a mechanic?" Levy asked, confused.

"He is, but the company he works for makes him travel from time to time."

"Oh."

"What about your family Shrimp? You got anyone missing you from home?"

"Most of my friends came to Magnolia University, too. And family wise, my parents died when I was young, and now I live on my own. Lucy and I share an apartment."

"I see," Gajeel thought. "Now I know why you and Lucy never had any roommate problems."

"Yeah, we kinda got used to it quickly." Levy smiled, leaving the conversation drop.

An awkward pause took the place of the conversation.

"So, are you hungry Shrimp?"

"Yeah, where are we going?"

"Hargeon Tavern. I know it's nothin' fancy, but I figured it would do…"Gajeel began awkwardly.

Levy put her hand on his arm to stop him.

"It sounds great Gajeel." Levy smiled.

"Good, cause we're almost there." Gajeel leaned forward and pointed. "Look there's the sign for Hargeon now. I hope you're hungry, but then again shrimps don't eat much huh? Gihihihi" Gajeel chuckled.

"Yeah, ha ha." Levy laughed without much humor.

After a few minutes, they pulled into the restaurant parking lot and got out of the vehicle. Gajeel took Levy's arm and lead her into the restaurant.

"I have reservations for 7:00, the name is Redfox." Gajeel told the hostess.

"Table for two?" The hostess replied, her eyes on the reservation list, looking for the name.

"Yes ma'am."

"I see your name here, please follow me." The hostess took two menus and led them to a secluded table promising that their waiter would be there in a moment.

"I'm impressed Gajeel!" Levy admitted as he pulled her chair out for her. "You clean up very nicely."

"What? I don't look dressed up on a daily basis?" Gajeel teased her, taking his seat across from her.

Just as she was going to reply their waiter approached the table.

"Welcome to Hargeon Tavern." The waiter smiled politely. "Can I take your drink ordrs while you look over the menu?"

"Yes please." Levy replied. "I would like an unsweetened tea, please. What about you Gajeel?"

"A cola, please." Gajeel smirked. The waiter nodded and left the room. "You're cute Shrimp." Gajeel grinned.

"What did I do?" Levy asked, confused.

"Nothin', you're just cute that's all."

Levy's eye twitched. _So far other than Gajeel's "cute" comments, the date had been going really well, _she thought to herself. She watched him as he looked over his menu. _I really like him, so I guess it's ok as long as he doesn't take it too far._

"So," Levy started, "how was your day?"

"Not bad, classes sucked, but it's much better now." Gajeel looked over the top of his menu to look at her. When levy Caught his eye she ducked behind her own menu to hide her blush. _He's smooth._

"How was your day?"

"It was grea-pretty good." Levy corrected herself, her mind flashing back to Lucy's stream of advice about her official first date – _Be aloof!_

"But I have to say that its getting better." Levy smiled shyly at him.

"Gihi, that's good, Shrimp." Gajeel smiled broadly – his red eyes sparkling. _There goes the nickname again,_ Levy thought sadly.

"Are you two ready to order?" The waiter had returned with their drinks.

"I am if you are." Gajeel looked at Levy.

"Yep- why don't you order first?"

"Ok. I'll have the steaks with potatoes." Gajeel ordered.

"And for you miss?" The waiter turned to Levy.

"I'll have the shrimp scampi with a side salad."

"Is that everything?" The waiter asked looking between them.

"Yes." Gajeel nodded. "Thank you." Gajeel grinned mischievously.

As soon as the waiter left Gajeel began laughing outright.

"No wonder you're so small! All you eat is bunny food." Gajeel chortled.

Levy puffed her cheeks in annoyance.

"I do not! Salad goes well with the pasta." She shot back hotly. "What about you Mr. Meat-and-Potatoes?"

"Big people have to eat a lot to stay strong." Gajeel flexed, his muscles rippling nicely underneath his dress shirt.

"Uh-huh." Levy grimaced, unimpressed. _He can be such a nice guy, if he wasn't being such an ass._

"So" Levy started, trying to break the pause. "What type of movies do you like?" At this point, no matter how frustrated she was, Levy was determined to see this date through.

"Action movies and comedies mostly – I also like horror movies."

"Figures, you seemed like that type." Levy stated bluntly, half teasing.

"Oh yeah?" Gajeel lifted an eyebrow. "Then what do you watch? Romance – Nicholas Sparks?" He grinned mischievously. "Let me guess, you cry at Disney movies, too?

"First of all, even though I do watch some romance and there's nothing wrong with liking Nicholas Sparks, that type of romance isn't my thing. Second," Levy lowered her voice and pouted her lower lip a bit, "You have no proof about me crying at Disney movies."

Gajeel burst out laughing.

"It's not funny. I was little and it was Dumbo." Levy defended. "No person with a heart can watch the 'baby of mine scene' without tearing up a bit." She stuck out her tongue. "Jerk!"

Gajeel grinned. "Okay, I'll give you that! You're cute when you get mad!"

_And there he goes with the cute again! I'm pretty damn it!_

"Okay Action-Hero, what type of music do you listen to? Rap? Screamo? 80's Metal?"

"A little bit of everything, but good try! Mostly it's metal, classic rock, and some pop. What about you?"

"Mostly the same, minus the metal. It's normally whatever Lucy has on her radio and that's normally the school's station since both Laxus and Natsu have a radio show." Levy smiled at how her best friend was crushing on the goofy pinkette. "I'm not too picky. The only thing I don't like is rap."

"I can agree to that." Gajeel lifted his soda and took a drink.

Just then the waiter appeared with their dishes and the conversation slowed as they began their meals. Gajeel began cutting into his steak as Levy picked up a shrimp with her fork. Suddenly, an evil grin appeared on his face.

"Levy, I have a question for you." Gajeel took a bite of his food.

"Yeah?" Levy did not like the look that Gajeel had in his eyes.

"Does eating that shrimp count as cannibalism for you?" Gajeel chuckled.

Levy looked him dead in the eye and took a big bite of her shrimp.

"No it doesn't." Levy replied coldly. "Can you ease up with the shrimp jokes, please? It was funny before, but now it's getting old."

"Yeah, sorry." Gajeel looked taken aback. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"It's ok." Levy sighed, she knew he didn't mean harm but after a while the teasing got to her.

Dinner continued in a slightly less than comfortable silence. Gajeel not sure if he seriously hurt Levy and Levy unsure of how to patch things up. Soon after they finished, the waiter came by offering dessert and the bill, which Gajeel took the later. With the bill paid the couple left the restaurant and began roaming town.

"Thank you for dinner Gajeel," Levy spoke gently after a few minutes of wandering. "I really enjoyed it."

"No problem Levy." Gajeel replied softly. His eyes searching her face to make sure that everything was ok. "Is there anything you want to do?"

"Why don't we wander around town? It's really nice out tonight," Levy looked to the sky and took Gajeel's hand. "The stars a beautiful!"

Gajeel followed her look up. "Yeah they are."

The couple walked down the main street looking at the star-filled sky in a comfortable silence. After a few blocks, they began to find their way back to the restaurant's parking lot. Levy shivered, chilled from the brisk night air.

"Would you like my jacket?" Gajeel offered, holding it out to her.

"Thank you." Levy took it and wrapped it around herself. Even though it was much too big for her, she felt very comfortable.

At the truck, Gajeel opened the door for Levy, helped her into her seat, and then climbed into the driver's side to start the truck.

"Thank you again, Gajeel. I had a good time." Levy squeezed his hand, knowing that what she said was mostly true.

"You're welcome. It was my pleasure."

The drive home was much more comfortable than dinner, but still different from the easiness that they both felt before dinner. To kill the pressure of small talk, Gajeel turned on the radio and set it to some pop station. A few songs played without incident until a soft piano melody began.

"What would I do without your smart mouth  
Drawing me in, and you kicking me out  
You got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down  
What's going on in that beautiful mind  
I'm on your magical mystery ride  
And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright"

At this point in the song, Gajeel could hear a small voice singing along to the radio. Gajeel looked at Levy from the corner of his eye. She was softly singing the song, enthralled in the music. His smile began to grow as Levy closed her eyes and sang along to the chorus.

"'Cause all of me  
Loves all of you  
Love your curves and all your edges  
All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me  
I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose I'm winning  
Cause I give you all of me  
And you give me all of you, oh"

Gajeel began to slow down the truck as they pulled into Magnolia and started driving the lamp lit streets back to campus. Gajeel snuck another look at her. _She's beautiful, _he thought to himself, _absolutely amazing._ He turned his eyes back to the road.

After the chorus as the song continued into the next verse, Levy looked at Gajeel and saw his broad smile. Even though it was different from the grins he made at the restaurant when he made fun of her, it still made her uneasy. Gajeel pulled in front of the Fairy Tail house and put the truck in park.

"So you like this song?" Gajeel asked.

"Yeah. I wasn't too big on it when it first came out, but as Lucy kept playing it, I began to fall in love with it." Levy replied, slightly worried about how he would respond. "Do you like it?"

"Eh," Gajeel shrugged. "I'm not into softie music."

"Huh, softie music." Levy said coldy.

"There's nothing wrong with it, but I'm not that type,"Gajeel continued, not realizing that he was digging himself into a hole. "You know what I mean, shrimp?"

And that was the last straw for Levy.

"Yep! I know exactly what you mean. Ya know what? I don't think this is going to work out." Levy's voice trembled, she was incredibly close to crying but didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"What do you mean?" Gajeel asked, confused on why Levy was so upset.

"Our relationship or at least what could have been a relationship." Levy shouted. "You've made fun of me all night, calling me a shrimp and teasing me for being so small. That's not even my fault. You teased me for the movies I like and about singing along to the music. At least my emotional capacity is bigger than a damn teaspoon."

Gajeel stared at her in shock and confusion.

"Levy I never made fun of you for singing," Gajeel began desperately, "but if I hurt you I'm…"

"Don't even say it!" Levy cut him off, her tone harsh. "Here's your stupid jacket." She shrugged it off, threw it a him, and climbed out of the truck. "You know what? I think the thing that hurts me the most is that I like you. I really do, but I don't want someone who is going to be a jerk constantly. I can't do this. I'm sorry." Tears streamed down Levy's face as she shut the door and ran to the house.

Levy burst through the front door, trying to wipe away and the tears. She didn't want have to deal with a million questions about why she was crying. She just wanted to go to bed. Unfortunately, fate had something else in mind, because the first person she ran into was Mira.

"Oh Levy! You look so pretty tonight! How was your date with Gajeel?" Mira smiled sweetly.

Levy couldn't handle it anymore and began to cry in earnest.

"Oh dear! Crap! It's ok Levy, don't cry." Mira pulled Levy down into a chair and sat next to her. "Sometimes these things don't work out, but that's ok. Everyone has had a bad first date."

Levy put her head in her hands and refused to look up. She could hear Mira texting someone, but she no longer cared. She just wanted the night to end and to forget about that stupid meta-head.

"I hate him." Levy sobbed into her hands. "It was going so well at first, but then he started making snide comments and ruined what we had going. I'm so pissed!"

"Shhh." Mira rubbed Levy's back soothingly. "It's ok."

"Mira! Where are you?" A new voice called.

"Over here Lucy!" Mira called back.

"Levy! What happened?" Lucy cried rushing over to console her friend.

"Gajeel's an ass and I never want to see him again." Levy mumbled into her hands.

"Come on." Lucy grabbed Levy's arm and pulled her up. "Let's go back to the room and you can tell me what happened." Lucy began leading her up the stairs to where the dorm rooms were. "Thank you Mira for texting me."

"No problem, Lucy." Mira nodded. "Let me know if you need anything. I'm great at revenge!" Mira's demonic look made Lucy shiver as she continued helping Levy.

Back at the room Lucy made Levy some hot chocolate, sat her down on the bed and put an arm around her.

"Tell me what happened." Lucy offered.

Levy launched into her tale of how the night had gone from an amazing first date to possibly one of the worst in history.

"The worst part is that I was that the song matched how I felt about him. He constantly pushes my buttons and gives me a hard time, but I care." Levy sniffled. "I care so much about him."

"I know, Levy." Lucy pulled her friend into a hug. "The only question that I have is did he actually make fun of you for singing the song?"

"Well, he had that stupid smile on his face that normally means he's about to say something stupid." Levy mumbled.

"But did he actually say something?"

Levy thought for a second and then shook her head.

"No he didn't, but he was still an ass about everything else."

"That he was." Lucy agreed. "Do you think that he was just trying to be goofy? I'm not saying what he did was ok, but I don't think he meant to hurt you."

"You don't think I know that?" Levy snapped. "That doesn't make it hurt any less. I want nothing to do with him."

"I understand." Lucy replied. "Come on, I have some ice cream in the freezer. We can eat that and watch some movies. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah!" Levy laughed softly. "You're the best Lucy!"

That weekend was the longest that Levy ever had. Gajeel kept calling trying to apologzie, but Levy wasn't having it. She was angry and had every right to be. Locking herself in her room, Levy watched movies and did homework. Lucy offered to stay with her for company, but Levy declined. She wanted time to be alone and think things out. Finally, by Sunday afternoon Levy was stir crazy and wanted out. Leaving her room to go for dinner, Levy walked past Gajeel's room and the boy's bathroom.

She could hear music coming from the bathroom and someone singing, the voice was oddly familiar.

"How many times do I have to tell you  
Even when you're crying you're beautiful too  
The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood  
You're my downfall, you're my muse  
My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues  
I can't stop singing, it's ringing in my head for you"

Levy's jaw dropped. It was Gajeel and he was singing "All of Me". The song that he made fun of her for. The song that he said he didn't like. Entralled, Levy continued to listen outside with her ear pressed against the door as the song moved into the chorus.

"My head's underwater  
But I'm breathing fine  
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind

'Cause all of me  
Loves all of you  
Love your curves and all your edges  
All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me  
I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose I'm winning  
Cause I give you all of me  
And you give me all of you, oh  
Give me all of you, oh oh"

Levy couldn't believe it. It was as if he was putting all his heart and soul into the music. It was then she knew that she could forgive him. Maybe he was stubborn and a jerk and loved to make fun of her, but inside, he was a good guy. Yeah he needed to tone down the mean jokes, but relationships are about learning and they could learn about each other and make it work.

Levy stayed outside the door to hear the rest of the song. Unfortunately, Levy didn't hear the water turn off and never moved her ear from against the door. Gajeel pulled the door open quickly causing Levy to fall face first into his chest.

"Woah, who the hell is…" Gajeel jumped back, looking around trying to figure out who was creeping at the door. "Oh! Levy it's you. What are you doing here?"

Levy pulled back and looked at Gajeel.

"Nothing! Why? What are you doing here Gajeel?" Levy replied coolly.

"Showering." Gajeel deadpanned. "You know the normal thing that people do to get cleaned up."

Levy looked at Gajeel and realized that he was only wrapped in a towel, which hung low enough to make Levy blush.

"Like what you see?" Gajeel teased.

"Yes…I mean no…I" Levy stuttered, embarrassed. "You were singing the song that you made fun of me for!" She accused.

"I never made fun of you for it." Gajeel stated calmly. "I said it wasn't my thing, but after that fight, I couldn't stop listeing to it. The stupid song was stuck in my head all weekend and I figured the only way to get rid of it was to sing along."

Levy lowered her head.

"Yeah about that fight I'm…."Gajeel began.

"I'm sorry." Levy said first. "I should have taken your jokes better. I know you weren't trying to be mean, but some of them went too far."

"No Levy. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so harsh." Gajeel looked away. "Can you forgive me?"

"If you can forgive me?"

"Yeah." Gajeel smiled. "So Shri…I mean Levy. Would we like to try this again? Start over from here?"

"No."

"What?" Gajeel's eyes widened with hurt.

"No, I want to continue from where we are. Why start again when we can go from here and keep learning."

"Does that mean you'll go out with me again?" Gajeel asked cautiously.

"Yeah." Levy smiled.

Gajeel hugged her with one arm, the other holding his towel from hitting the ground. He leaned over and whispered in Levy's ear.

"Time to wake up Shrimp."

Levy's eyes opened into Gajeel's red ones.

"Morning Shrimp!" Gajeel grinned. "Sleep well? I thought you said you were going to study?"

"I was but I began thinking back and must have fallen asleep." Levy sat up and stretched. "What time is it?"

"Almost 6. I thought we could put this stuff away and go to dinner together." Gajeel stood and reached out to help Levy up.

"Sounds great!"

Levy took Gajeel's hand and pulled herself up. Gajeel wrapped his arms around her and kissed her nose.

"Heads up guys!" A loud voice shouted.

Too late. A flying Frisbee wacked Gajeel in the back of the head, ending the moment.

"Who the hell was that? Salamander you dumb bastard!" Gajeel yelled angrily.

"It wasn't me it was snowy shorts!" Natsu yelled back running for the Frisbee.

"No it wasn't! It was definitely you. You just suck at sports!" Gray shouted.

"That's it!" Gajeel snapped. "Levy dinner is going to have to wait because I'm going to kick Salamander's ass at Frisbee and you're going to help me."

"No problem." Levy laughed, running to join the others.

_Too bad the year has to end, but I still have so many more with you. Let's make the best of it!_

**Author's note: Sorry the chapter was so long. I just had so many ideas that it was hard to narrow it down. Next chapter will be Nalu and be a summer vacation chapter. It should come out at some point in the next month. Updates are slow because free time isn't really a thing for me right now. **

**I hoped you guys liked it. Please feel free to review, comment and send what you guys thought of it. Thanks for reading**


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